Bioactive Encapsulated Powders for Functional Foods—a Review of Methods and Current Limitations

The incorporation of functional ingredients in food products is often limited by their taste and instability during processing and storage. Encapsulation techniques are commonly used to overcome these limitations and for the development of value-added products. Although different methods and materials are available, their selection will depend on the bioactive properties and the desired characteristics of the encapsulate and the final product. Physicochemical characteristics of encapsulates should be assessed and considered during all stages of food processing. Although a considerable body of literature has reported the encapsulation of bioactives, there is still a large gap between research and their application and commercialization into food products. The purposes of this review are to provide an overview of the current research on the encapsulation of bioactive components and methods used for their preparation, discuss relevant physicochemical characteristics that should be considered for the application of encapsulates into food products, and provide directions for future research.